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Empowering Teachers …Leading Change

www.njctl.org

New Jersey

Center for Teaching and Learning

Robert Goodman, Ed.D

Executive Director

NJ Center for Teaching and Learning

&

Teacher

Bergen County Technical HS – Teterboro, NJ

[email protected] www.njctl.org

My Challenge in 1999

Started public school teaching in 1999.

Launched a pre-engineering program at a new vocational-technical high school.

Taught sixteen 9th grade students to begin program.

Told my students had completed Algebra I in 8th grade.

My Challenge in 1999

Only 3 of my 16 students had taken Algebra I, but they were scheduled for Geometry and Biology.

They weren’t prepared for Geometry.

Biology wouldn’t help with Algebra or Engineering.

The Solution

Used 2 hours of the vocational time I had with them to create an on-ramp to STEM:

40 minutes of Algebra I.

40 minutes of mathematically rigorous Algebra-Based Physics.

40 minutes of Engineering.

Why Algebra-Based Physics?

Requirement for almost all STEM career paths,

more than any other subject.

The foundation for science; it makes science

make sense.

Provides a use for math; motivating students.

My Second Challenge

Textbooks to teach mathematically rigorous

Algebra-Based Physics didn’t exist.

In the U.S. mathematically rigorous Physics

was taught with Trigonometry or Calculus.

Books that used just Algebra, were not

mathematically rigorous.

The Solution

Wrote a book for mathematically rigorous Algebra-Based Physics.

Topics were chosen to prepare students for Chemistry & AP Physics B.

AP Physics was critical to recognize what these Vo-tech students had achieved.

A Third Challenge

My room had no tables, chairs, blackboard or whiteboard, just computer stations.

I went to:

The faculty lounge to get a few five foot diameter round tables.

The cafeteria to get chairs.

The storage room to get a blackboard on wheels.

Round Tables - a Lucky Break

These students had not been very successful in science or mathematics.

But, they liked talking to each other, and working on questions and problems together.

This led to a pedagogy which was welcoming to all students.

Social Constructivism

Brief direct instruction.

Students building mental models by solving increasingly complex problems.

Working together at round tables.

The Result

Pre-engineering students loved math & science.

Enjoyed problem-solving with their friends.

Learned that mathematics is useful.

Learned that science makes sense, it’s not memorization.

The Result

Students in the other majors petitioned to take Algebra-Based Physics in 9th grade.

By 2003, all students in the school were taking Physics in 9th grade.

No tracking, all students in the same course.

Many went on to AP Physics B.

The Result

By 2005 - 13 times the state rate of students were taking and passing AP Physics B.

#1 in the state; double the #2 school.

Became 2006 New Jersey State Teacher of the Year.

Extending the Work

The DOE wanted to build this on-ramp to STEM careers in more schools.

The NJEA formed the NJ Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) and put me on the board.

A major goal of CTL became to extend this work.

Our Challenge in 2007

Extending this work broadly required:

Schools to stop teaching HS science backwards.

Developing free OER science and mathematics course materials that could be shared and edited.

Many more Physics teachers.

Stop Teaching Science Backwards

Biology Physics

Geom.Algebra.

II & TrigAlgebra

Chem

Precalc

9th Grade 10th Grade 11th Grade 12th Grade

Make Science Make Sense

Physics Biology

Geom.AlgebraII & Trig

Algebra

Chem


New HS Science Sequence – with APs

Physics Biology

AlgebraAP

PhysicsAP

ChemAP Bio

MA I MA II AP CalcGeom.

Chem

Algebra II Pre Calculus


Our Solution for Course Materials

As a STOY, I was given an interactive whiteboard and student polling devices.

We captured our pedagogy and content in SMART Notebooks.

Posted those editable Notebooks on www.njctl.orgfor the free use of all.

http://www.njctl.org/

Pedagogy

Direct Instruction

Interactive White Board (IWB) presentation

Student Response Formative Assessment

Teacher as part of social group

Pedagogy

Social Constructivism

Round Tables

Group Problem Solving

Heterogeneous Setting

Formative Assessment

Student polling devices

connect together direct

instruction and social

constructivism through

the use of real-time

formative assessment.

Formative Assessment

The Key: Correct Answer is Hidden

Students must defend their answers.

Students focus on short direct instruction.

Demonstrations and labs extend learning.

Neuroscience, Vygotsky and Video Games

People like to struggle, and then win.

If there’s no struggle, it’s boring.

If there’s no win, it’s frustrating.

Releases dopamine, resulting in pleasure and

memory retention.

Structure of Classroom Learning

Each topic has direct instruction and about 6

formative assessment questions.

Topics (with demonstrations) comprise units.

Units (with labs) comprise courses.

The sequence of courses comprise education.

Creating Physics Teachers

PSI has shown that all students can learn Physics.

PSI has shown that all teachers can learn Physics.

PSI teaches Physics to skilled teachers.

Provides teachers the tools to teach Physics.

To get the best teachers to become the best Physics

teachers:

“Teaching is hard; science is easy”

#1 producer of U.S. Physics teachers.

Major producer of U.S. Chemistry teachers.

Trained 1430 teachers in 218 schools in the

effective use of our free editable course materials.

Our Results – Teacher Training

Extending beyond HS Science

Approach extended to K-12 mathematics & science

Progressive Science Initiative® (PSI ®): K-12 Science

Progressive Mathematics Initiative ® (PMI ®): K-12 Mathematics

www.njctl.org

Created electronic files capturing our course content

AND method of teaching, eliminating textbooks.

100,000+ slides.

3500+ word documents.

Almost all of K-12 mathematics and science.

Posted at www.njctl.org.

Free Editable K-12 Course Content

http://www.njctl.org/

In the last 12 months:

3.6 million pageviews.

1.6 million file downloads.

244,000 unique visitors.

Used in all 50 states and 180 countries.

Our Results: Free Editable K-12

Mathematics & Science Courses

Our Results – Geographic Expansion

Developed in one NJ school: 1999

Extended to 100+ NJ schools: 2007

Extended to Argentina: 2010

Extended to four other U.S. states: 2011

Extended to West Africa: 2012

Eight of the top 20 NJ schools for taking AP Physics B

Students in these PSI schools versus those in these

non-PSI schools:

Economically disadvantaged: 61% versus 9%

71% Black/Hispanic 71% versus 11%

Mostly urban versus mostly suburban

Our Results – Student Learning

AP Physics B Participation – NJ2013-14

100Kin10 Partner

Accepted, in 2015, by 100Kin10 as one of 236 “best

in class” partners working to achieve President

Obama’s goal of 100,000 new mathematics and

science teachers by 2020.

Learning Forward – National Report

Learning Forward – National Report

“The New Jersey Center for Teaching and Learning

(NJCTL) has been doing groundbreaking

professional development work in math and science

instruction as well…using the innovative curriculum

of 2006 New Jersey Teacher of the Year Robert

Goodman…to create the Progressive Science

Initiative….”

IMS Learning Impact Award

PSI-PMI Paradigm Shift

For what world are we preparing our students?

Not for

Isolated work:

factual recall;

sitting quietly;

transcribing;

accepting

PSI-PMI Paradigm Shift

For what world are we preparing our students?

Rather, for collaborative work:

critical thinking;

problem solving;

talking;

debating;

questioning

Next Generation Science Standards

(NGSS)

Hired by Achieve to review a draft of the NGSS, and then the final NGSS.

Other people and organizations did similar reviews.

Will cite two of those reviews today.

Reviews of NGSS

American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), whose “mission is to enhance the understanding and appreciation of physics through teaching.”

Thomas B. Fordham Institute (TBFI), whose mission is to “be the nation's leader in advancing educational excellence for every child through quality research, analysis, and commentary….”

Reviews of NGSS

All three of us support adoption of the NGSS.

Only NGSS supporters are cited today.

However, we all raised similar concerns that need to be addressed.

STEM College and Career Readiness

NGSS are generally viewed as being a set of standards which, if mastered, would make a student “College and Career Ready.”

They are viewed as being analogous to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in mathematics.

Which College? Which Career?

However, that depends on which college or career.

NGSS are NOT sufficient to provide the science needed to embark on STEM Career Paths.

This can be corrected by developing curricula which address this deficit.

From the AAPT Report on NGSS

“Minimum Standards. We emphasize again that

the NGSS document should state very clearly that

the performance standards put forward in the

document are minimum standards.”

“Teachers can and should go beyond these

performance expectations for most students.

Students expecting to pursue STEM-related

majors or careers will need more depth.”

From NGSS Documents

“It would certainly be recommended that students, especially those considering careers in a STEM-related field, would go beyond these courses to take science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses that would enhance their preparation.”

From NGSS Documents

“The NGSS do not define advanced work in the sciences. Based on review from college and career faculty and staff, the NGSS form a foundation for advanced work, but students wishing to move into STEM fields should be encouraged to follow their interest with additional coursework.”

From the Fordham Institute NGSS Report

“More problematic, however, is that the content of

NGSS itself fails to ensure that all students will be

equipped with sufficient content to make real the

option of taking more advanced courses in the

core STEM disciplines. This is particularly

egregious in physics and chemistry, where our

reviewers found that…”

“…the physical science standards fail to lay the

foundation for advanced study in high school and

beyond, and there is so little advanced content that

it would be impossible to derive a high school

physics or chemistry course from the content

included in the NGSS.”



“Recommended ‘practices’ dominated the NGSS,

relegating essential knowledge—which should be

the ultimate goal of science education—to

secondary status.”


“…[the NGSS] conferred primacy on practices and

paid too little attention to the knowledge base that

makes those practices both feasible and

worthwhile.”

“Unfortunately, the NGSS suffer from the belief—

widespread among educators—that practices are

more important than content.”


“…factual knowledge [actually] enhances cognitive

processes like problem solving and reasoning. The

richer the knowledge base, the more smoothly and

effectively these cognitive processes—the very

ones that teachers target—operate. So, the more

knowledge students accumulate, the smarter they

become.”

- Daniel Willingham


“As mentioned previously, the AAPT group is

profoundly disappointed with the current

formulation of NGSS and we believe that in

fact, that formulation undermines the national

science education standards effort.”

From the AAPT Letter on NGSS

“We emphasize, however, that the Science

Standards are not meant to be a guide for

curriculum development.”


“In reality, there is virtually no mathematics, even

at the high school level, where it is essential to the

learning of physics and chemistry. Rather, the

standards seem to assiduously dodge the

mathematical demands inherent in the subjects

covered. There is math available in the Common

Core that could be used to enhance the science of

the NGSS. No advantage is taken of this.”


“We find an under-emphasis on using quantitative

techniques….”

“Compared with the Common Core State

Standards for Mathematics at middle school level,

the Physical Science PEs undervalue the use of

mathematics in science.”


“We find…a lack of emphasis on construction and

interpretation of graphs at middle school and high

school levels. Graphical presentation of

information is ubiquitous in society, cutting across

many professions and occupations. We want

students to be able to deal with both qualitative,

graphical and age-appropriate quantitative

information and models.”

NGSS Appendix L

The authors of NGSS realized that they had a mathematics deficit.

So, they created Appendix L to address this deficit.

Appendix L proved insufficient, since the NGSS themselves were left unchanged.

From the Fordham Institute Report on

Appendix L

“This failure to include essential math content is

particularly troubling in light of statements by the

authors of the NGSS that they intended to

integrate mathematics into their new science

expectations.”


Appendix L

“Johns Hopkins mathematician and veteran

Fordham reviewer W. Stephen Wilson” found the

following three major weaknesses in the

mathematical alignment of NGSS to CCSS.


Appendix L

“1. In several cases where NGSS expectations

require math in order to fully understand the

science content, that math goes well beyond what

students would have learned in classrooms

aligned to the Common Core. In other words, the

math in the NGSS and the math in the CCSSM are

not fully aligned.”


Appendix L

“2. Appendix L misses several opportunities to

build important links between grade-appropriate

math and required science content.”


Appendix L

“3. Appendix L too often makes “superficial

connections,” in which grade-appropriate math is

presented in ways that do little to enhance science

learning.”

Dr. Phillip Griffiths

When CTL was vetted to become a 100Kin10

partner reviewers were very positive.

Dr. Phillip Griffiths saw CTL as standing out for its

recognition of the unique role of Physics.

Dr. Griffiths is a Fields Medalist and Director

Emeritus of the Institute of Advanced Study.

Quote from Dr. Phillip Griffiths

“Physics education is of singular significance. The

laws of physics are integral to much of natural

science, with applications in chemistry, biology,

astronomy, and earth and atmospheric sciences,

among other fields. Efforts to solve physics problems

spawned the development of calculus in the 17th

century, and questions originating from physics

permeate mathematics to this day. Problem-solving in

the context of conceptual theory, with solutions tested

by experiment, is a combination unique to physics.”

The Uniquely Important Role of Physics

Read a university course catalog to find which sciences are required for STEM majors.

For Rutgers,

• 90% require Physics

• 80% require Chemistry

• Fewer than 60% require Biology

• All other sciences are under 10%


The rank of the sciences in importance to STEM majors is:

1. Physics

2. Chemistry

3. Biology

4. Earth, Space and Environmental Science


But what HS students study is the reverse, in order and frequency:

1. Earth, Space and Environmental Science

2. Biology

3. Chemistry

4. Physics

NGSS and Physics

NGSS weights these science about equally.

This under-emphasizes Physics and Chemistry.

And overemphasizes Biology, Earth and Environmental Science.

Improving NGSS and CCSS

A K-12 Physics thread would wed NGSS to CCSS, benefiting both.

But, this solution requires a pedagogy which is welcoming to all students.

This would build an on-ramp to STEM career paths for all students.

Access to STEM Career Paths

In the past, there were jobs for people without the

mental tools of mathematics and science.

Those jobs are shrinking in number.

We can no longer accept students leaving school

unprepared for the jobs that are open and

desirable.

STEM Career Paths

Social justice and international competitiveness are two sides of the same coin.

A society which is just provides equal opportunity to all its citizens.

A society which is internationally competitive realizes the potential of all of its citizens.

STEM Career Paths

All students need not pursue a STEM Career Path.

But, all students must have a K-12 education that gives them that choice…that opportunity.

Using Physics to connect CCSS and NGSS would provide all students that opportunity.

Your Help Is Needed

Please work with CTL to:

Identify key experiments and problems that tie the NGSS to the CCSS Math in each grade

Develop materials making those experiments accessible to all K-8 students and teachers.

The Goal:

Access for All to STEM Career Paths

Empowering Teachers …Leading Change

www.njctl.org [email protected]

New Jersey

Center for Teaching and Learning